Improvement in locomotive street-cars



H. G. BULL.

Locomotive Street-Gar.

L; N01. 195,881. A Patented oct. 9, 1877.

n'fess es In gewaar. @im ZW7%M PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY O. BULL, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT 'IOWILLIAM L. HEADLEY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT 1l-N LOCOMOTIVE STREET-CARS.

Speciication forming part of Letters Patent No. 195,881, dated October9, 1877; application filed July 7, 1876.

To all whom t m'a/y concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY C. BULL, of the city of Brooklyn, county ofKings, and State of New York, have inventeda new and `useful Improvementin the Construction of arrangement of street locomotivecars, in

which the propelling machinery and the passenger -compartment orcar-body are carried upon the same truck-frame.

The side parts A A of the truck-frame, Figs. l and 2, are ofwrought-iron tubing, about six and a half inches, more or less, indiameter, and are each formed in one piece, and have screws cut on theirends to enter and take into corresponding screws tapped in the bracketsB B', and, inlike manner, the cross-aming O G', O" C", and D D arescrewed into the innerl ends or sockets of the brackets B B, B B', and EE, and the center piece F into the couplings G G'. But the couplings GrG' are attached to their respective crosspieces C" C" and D D by gripe-joints-that is, they are made to embrace the crosspieces, as shown at G,Fig. S-and have an open slot in the under side, with flanges, throughwhich bolts are passed, as shown at a, Figs. 2 and 3, for the purpose ofdrawing the coupling tightly to the parts which they embrace.

In putting this frame together, I rst attach the middle piece F to theinner sockets of the gripe-couplings Gr G' by screwingthem together, asexplained above. I then pass the end piece C" O" through the opening inG', 'and screw on the brackets B' B', and, in like manner, combine withthe center piece F the middle crosspieces D D and brackets E E. Then theside parts A A A A are passed through the openings in the brackets E E,as shown at II H, Fig. 3, and are screwed home into the brackets B' B'.I then screw into each of the brackets B B the pieces of tubing O O',each of which is a little less than half the length of the crosspieces OC' or D D. I run on the screwed coupling J till its edge is level withthe end ot' the piece C. This is done to enable the brackets B B to bescrewed onto the side pieces A AA A, after which the sleeve-coupling Jis worked over till it embraces and secures the second piece O', whichcompletes the truck-frame.

The steamgenerator will rest upon and be attached to the truck-frame bythe brackets B B and part of the brackets E E, and will pass down somedistance into the open space within the frame, which is shown in Fig. 1,and that end of the truck-frame or car will be supported on afour-wheeled swivelin g truck.

, The steam-cylinders and their apl'iurtenances,

as indicated at K K, Figs. l and 2, are attached to the middle piece Fof the truck-frame by means of the carrier L, which is attached to themiddle piece F by a gripe-coupling, as shown; and in the same way thepedestals M M, which carry the journal-boxes of the driving-axle, aresecured to the side pieces A A A A. The carrier L is connected to thepedestals M M by the braces N N, thereby relieving the couplings of thecarrier L and the pedestals M M from the alternate compressing andextension strains produced by the reciprocating movements of theengines; and all the machinery of the engines is so constructed andadapted to the truck-frame as to be below the level of the uppersurfaces of the brackets.

'Ihe front end of the car-body I) will rest on a part of the middlebrackets E E, and will extend behind the rear brackets B B', so as tothrow the weight of the passengers or load upon the driving-wheels,which will be about under the middle of the load, thus increasing ordiminishing the adhesion of the driving wheels by the load or weightwhich has to be moved by them.

I make the car-body P I substantially the same as those which are in useon the horserailroads, and secure it to the side brackets by steadyingpins or bolts passing down through them from the side sills ofthecarbody, so as to be easily removed or replaced when required.

I also attach to the car-body the rear platform R, steps S, andhand-railing T, together with a door to the car-body for entrance orexit by the rear platform R.

It is of great economical value to a company using'a large number ot'these locomotive-cars to have the car-bodies portable or separable fromthe truck-frame for, the truckfralne and its machinery being of anentirely diierent material and workmanship to the car-body, the repairsto these parts have to be made by entirely ditl'erent sets ot'mechanics, and in diterent shops specially adapted for each branch ofthework. Accordingly, when the truck-frame and ear-body are separable, asdescribed, each of' said parts may be immediately taken t-o its ownparticular shop, that the repairs on both parts lnay progresssimultaneously, instead of passing the whole car from shop to shop,till, one after the other, all the different repairs are tinallycompleted. And, the truck-frames and car-bodies being interchangeable inthis system, it' either ot' the said parts gets injured, it may beimmediately replaced by a like part, without interruption to the workingof the road, so long as a carbody and a truck-frame, with its machineryin Working condition, are on hand, thus avoiding` the pecuniary losswhich results fromidle stock when the whole car and its machinery h. veto be laid up to have repairs put on one of the said parts only.

This system ofthe independent truck-frame and portable car-body hasanother very important advantage for the stealll-generator.

The steamengines and all the steam and water pipe connections beingarranged upon the truck-frame and entirely unconnected with thecar-body, the steam-pipe and Water-pipe connections or joints are notdisturbed or opened by the jarring or surging motions of the car-body,as is the case in all the street locomotive -cars at present inuse,'fron1 the fact that the engine-Work or its connections are attachedto the car-body as Well as to the framing upon which such car-body isbuilt.

Having thus described my improvement in locomotive street-railroad cars,what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States, :is-

l. The truck-frame having the side brackets E E, in combination with thedetachable car-body l P, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the side brackets, which carry the coach-body ofthe car, with the cross-framing of the truck, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination of the steam-cylinders with the central longitudinalportion ofthe truck-frame, in the manner and for the purposesubstantially as herein described.

4. The combination of the central carrier of the steam-cylinders withthe pedestals of the driving-axles, by means of the braces N N, in themanner and for the purpose substantially as herein described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name to thisspecification in the presence ot' two subscribing Witnesses.

HENRY C. BULL.

Witnesses F. A. FULLER, Jr., OoTAVE WHITTAKER.

